Vicki Forman gave birth to Evan and Ellie, weighing just a poundat birth, at twenty-three weeks gestation. During the delivery shebegged the doctors to "let her babies go" she knew all too wellthat at twenty-three weeks they could very well die and, if theysurvived, they would face a high risk of permanent disabilities.However, California law demanded resuscitation. Her daughter diedjust four days later; her son survived and was indeed multiplydisabled: blind, nonverbal, and dependent on a feeding tube. ThisLovely Life tells, with brilliant intensity, of what became of theForman family after the birth of the twins the harrowing medicalinterventions and ethical considerations involving the sanctity oflife and death. In the end, the longdelayed first steps of afive-year-old child will seem like the fist-pumping stuff of atriumph narrative. Formans intelligent voice gives a sensitive,nuanced rendering of her guilt, her anger, and her eventualacceptance in this portrait of a mothers fierce love for herchildren.

Edited by the award-winning and critically-acclaimed EdwidgeDanticat, author of Brother, I Am Dying , this classic collection of essaysshowcases the year’s best.

Recipient of the Grand Prix of the Acadmie Franaise, Wind,Sand and Stars captures the grandeur, danger, and isolation offlight. Its exciting account of air adventure, combined withlyrical prose and the spirit of a philosopher, makes it one of themost popular works ever written about flying. Translated by LewisGalantire.

A behind-the-scenes, intensley-researched look at the blue-bloodscandal that has riveted not just New York but the world. When thebeloved Mrs. Astor's only child Anthony Marshall was indicted oncharges of looting her estate, the story was covered by the entirenational press corps as well as newspapers way beyond our borders.The fate of Brooke Astor, the endearing philanthropist with astoried name who gave away nearly $200 million to the city--and didso with incomparable class and style--has generated headlines eversince the story broke in 2006 that her grandson Philip had sued hisfather alleging mistreatment of Brooke.

Essential reading for anyone interested in Japanese culture,this unsurpassed masterwork opens an intriguing window on Japan.Benedict's World War IIera study paints an illuminating contrastbetween the culture of Japan and that of the United States. TheChrysanthemum and the Sword is a revealing look at how and why ourcultures differ, making it the perfect introduction to Japanesehistory and customs.

Four friends come together in a hot contemporary erotic novelfrom the author of Chain Reaction. Meet the friends: Free spirited Jamie is not one to be tieddown—unless it’s in the bedroom. Caleb is Jamie’s sexuallyadventurous lover who has no desire to domesticate her. Mia isJamie’s naive friend whose sexual fulfillment has depended solelyon her first and only lover. Aidan thinks he knows what Mia wants.That’s because he’s the only man she’s ever gone to, to getit. This weekend, four best friends at the crossroads of theirrelationships have decided to do something different. But as sexualpartners shift, Jamie, Caleb, Mia, and Aidan will discover moreabout themselves and each other than they ever imagined.

The redemptive journey of a young woman unsure of herengagement, who revisits in memory the events of one scorchingchildhood summer when her beautiful yet troubled mother spirits heraway from her home to an Indian village untouched by time, whereshe discovers in the jungle behind her ancestral house aspellbinding garden that harbors a terrifying secret.

The collection that established O'Connor's reputation as oneof the american masters of the short story. The volume contains thecelebrated title story, a tale of the murderous fugitive TheMisfit, as well as "The Displaced Person" and eight otherstories.

We've seen them in a Dateline story or an Oprah feature: homesthat have become improbable repositories of - literally - tons ofstuff. The camera crews zoom in on rooms crammed floor-to-ceilingwith stacks of newspapers and magazines. We watch, fascinated, asprofessional organizers attack the untidy rooms, or the hostexpresses horror at a filthy kitchen, but never ask the largerquestion: How did it come to this? STUFF is the first book toexplore compulsive hoarding, a disorder that affects as many as sixmillion people. Using the latest research, much of which theypioneered in their decade of study, along with vivid case historiesof a range of hoarders (animal collectors, compulsive shoppers,elderly packrats, scavengers), Frost and Steketee describe thevarious causes of hoarding - psychological and biological--and thetraits by which you can identify a hoarder. In a portrait thatdisproves many of our assumptions about the often-hidden disease(for example, most hoarders aren't reacting to childhood poverty

In the town of Hawkins Hollow, itas called the Seven. Everyseven years, on the seventh day of the seventh month, madnessdescends on this small town. But three men bound by blood and threewomen bound by ancestry to a demon have pledged their soulsaandtheir heartsato stop it.

Don Juan, the "Seducer of Seville," originated as ahero-villain of Spanish folk legend, is a famous lover andscoundrel who has made more than a thousand sexual conquests. Oneof Molire's best-known plays, Don Juan was written while Tartuffewas still banned on the stages of Paris, and shared much with theoutlawed play. Modern directors transform Don Juan in every newera, as each director finds something new to highlight in thistimeless classic. Richard Wilbur's flawless translation will be thestandard for generations to come, as have his translations ofMolire's other plays. Witty, urbane, and poetic in its prose, DonJuan is, most importantly, as funny now as it was for audienceswhen it was first presented.

Ruth Anne "Bone" Boatwright, an illegitimate young girl,dreams of escaping her Greenville County, South Carolina, home, hernotorious, hard-living family, and the unwanted attentions of herabusive stepfather, Daddy Glen. A first novel. Reprint. NationalBook Award finalist. NYT.

InTormentfallenangelDanielandhismortalloveLucindathinktheyaresafebutevilforcesaremassingagainstthem.AsLucelearnsmoreaboutherpast,anddiscoversthatthelivesshe'salreadylivedholdthekeytoherfuturehappiness;shestartstowonderifDanielhastoldherthewholetruth.Whatifhisversionofeventsisn'tthewaythingshappened?Whatifthatmeansthatshe'sreallymeanttobewithsomeoneelse?

"The Tin Drum," one of the great novels of the twentiethcentury, was published in Ralph Manheim's outstanding translationin 1959. It became a runaway bestseller and catapulted its youngauthor to the forefront of world literature.To mark the fiftiethanniversary of the original publication, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,along with Grass's publishers all over the world, is bringing out anew translation of this classic novel. Breon Mitchell, an acclaimedtranslator and scholar, has drawn from many sources: a wealth ofdetailed scholarship, a wide range of newly available referenceworks, and the author himself. The result is a translation that ismore faithful to Grass's style and rhythm, restores omissions, andreflects more fully the complexity of the original work.After fiftyyears, "The Tin Drum" has, if anything, gained in power andrelevance. All of Grass's amazing evocations are still there, andstill amazing: Oskar Matzerath, the indomitable drummer; hisgrandmother, Anna Koljaiczek; his mother, Agnes; Alfred M